Was Istanbul Bombing a Portent?

The bombing of two British targets in Istanbul, in which at least 25 people died, is a human tragedy. It is also the U.K.'s closest direct brush with the global war on terror. (See related article.)

The destruction of the British Consulate and the local HSBC headquarters, while a horrible event, is not a cataclysm on the level of the September 11 attacks. For one thing, the bombers did not strike at London itself. But there is still a crucial difference between explosions in Turkey and carnage on the streets of Iraq....